Break taken by Peter Navarro's jury might have upended guilty verdict: report

An unusual fresh-air break by the jury that convicted Peter Navarro last week could upend the contempt of Congress trial against the former Donald Trump adviser, reported Politico.

U.S. District Court judge Amit Mehta heard testimony Wednesday from a federal courthouse employee who escorted the jury outside for a break just 30 minutes before they delivered the guilty verdict, and Navarro's attorneys are arguing they may have been exposed to protesters who carried signs about Jan. 6 defendants and Navarro himself, reported Politico.

Court security officer Rosa Roldan Torres told the judge that she accompanied all 12 jurors outside to a plaza near the courthouse when they asked for fresh air, and she recalled seeing media cameras and a man carrying an American flag and holding a sign, and she said jurors were not wearing badges or any other items that would have identified them as a jury.

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Torres said jurors spent 10 to 15 minutes outside chatting amongst themselves and were not approached by anyone, and they quickly reached their verdict after going back inside.

Protesters are common outside the federal courthouse, but the judge must determine whether any exposure to them had a meaningful impact on their verdict, which came after a two-day trial and four hours of deliberation.